The advantages and features of the use of nucleus hives

Even the most experienced beekeepers at the mention of the word "core" can not always clearly and correctly explain what it is. The word itself is of Latin origin and is translated as "core". This is its main essence. Nucleus implies a small beehive, quite self-sufficient, with its own uterus and workers.

Purpose and Description

According to the reviews of experienced beekeepers, the process of insemination of young queen bees under the conditions of a strong bee colony is quite disadvantageous and difficult.

This requires populating the hive with a large number of drones, which, as we know, are not very useful for the family and, apart from their main function, do nothing more. Especially for this, the cores were invented, in which new queens are grown and contain spare ones.

A few years earlier, these small beehives were created on the basis of the usual ones, only for this purpose, some 3-4 frames were set aside in the side of the house. It was obligatory to have several partitions and letkov, directed in opposite directions. A barren uterus (less commonly a queen cell) was placed in each of these departments and a small family was created.

This method brought a lot of inconvenience and hassle, as it required constant monitoring of the absence of lye or passageways. Also, significant losses of heat and honey were observed, the compartments were poorly supplied with oxygen, and they were difficult to tolerate the winter, which led to the rapid depletion of working bees.

Nucleus is a mini hivein which 1-2 frames with brood are installed and the same number of frames with feed. It is intended primarily to ensure the safety of the beewomen and their brood, which can die in the winter.

Design features

To properly understand what a nucleus is and how it is useful in beekeeping, it is necessary to know the peculiarities of its structure. Basically this kind of hive It contains one or two bee-maids and 600-1000 working bees. Such a house may contain Dadanovsky framework, the framework of Ruth.

If you want to put them in the amount of 6 pieces, put along, and if 12 - across. With a large number of frames, the entire hive can be divided into two parts in order to be able to grow two families of bees at the same time. Make sure the walls of the nucleus are double, and one surface is suitable for the roof and the bottom.

The walls of such a hive can be made of one-sided fiberboard, the smooth side of which is on the outside. Be sure to make 4 inlets for bees, two for warm and cold drifts. In the event that the family is rather weak, you can get by with two tap-outs.

Formation of bee colonies

The key to successful nucleation is using strong and healthy families. Perform this operation before or during the swarming of bees, you can also do this before the end of the main bribe. The first half of the day is most suitable, as most individuals fly away for nectar, and only non-flying bees are in the hive.

When choosing bees for the nucleus, be sure to consider the climatic features of your zone. If you are in the south, select only one brood frame and two frames with feed, which must be at least 2 kg. If you are located in the northern or central part, feel free to take 2 frames with brood and 2 - with food.

Be sure to ensure that the whole brood is sealed and reaches a mature state. Food for bees can be honey or perga. In the southern part about 300 bees can be placed, in the northern - 600 and more.

After the bees have been selected, instead of the selected frames, place the framework with waxed flowers in the hive. Be sure to warm the core, and reduce the entry size so that only one bee can fly out. After some time, all the flight individuals will leave the mini-hive, leaving only the young there.

At first, provide young bees with water., because they themselves still can not get it. After removing all the brood, and it takes about 5 days, you can remove the old frame, and in its place a new one with larvae. This activates the bee educators.

After another 5 days we repeat the process. And so on until the young womb starts laying eggs on its own.For a complete and correct understanding of the process of forming a family in the nucleus, watch the video with detailed instructions.

Benefits of using

Creating the cores in your apiary will solve some very important tasks. First is will increase the productivity of the apiary in general. Bee colonies in such mini-houses develop much faster due to good conditions and constant care.

Secondly, You can renew your family at any time by replacing the uterus. It will not be necessary to create special conditions for the removal of fistula, swarm females, or queens of the quiet shift. In case of obsolescence of the bee-woman or its damage, you will have the opportunity to immediately replace it with a young and healthy one.

Thirdly, the amount of honey increasesreceived in the apiary. This is due to the increase in the number of worker bees grown in the nuclei. Properly insulated house for the winter, you get high-quality uterus and healthy families in the spring.

Nucleus do it yourself

The nucleus is quite simple to manufacture, it can also be purchased in a specialty store. It is only required to correctly draw up a drawing of a future bee's nest, which would take into account all the elements and subtleties, including legs, ventilation holes, tap holes.

Drawings, materials, tools

The very first step in making a nucleus for bees at home with your own hands is drawing a sketch of a future hive. It must contain the overall dimensions, marks on the places where frames, feeders and tap holes will be installed. An example of a sketch is presented below in the photo.

The most simple and common material to use is foam, of high quality. You can also use polystyrene foam. Sheet thickness should be at least 20 mm, ideal - 30 mm. If you do not know what tools to use, here approximate list of them:

• glue;
• clerical knife;
• self-tapping screws;
• set of screwdrivers;
• knives;
• sheets of foam.

All this can be found in the most ordinary hardware store. The use of expanded polystyrene as a starting material is very common among beekeepers. And this has its advantages, as it has a high thermal conductivity and is very durable.

Such beehives are not exposed to wind and cold temperatures, while letting the sun through. But there is a significant disadvantage - they are not strong enough, it is difficult to clean them from propolis. Therefore, approach the choice of material seriously and responsibly.

Instructions for making

In order to facilitate the manufacture of such a bee house with their own hands, were highlighted The main stages of this process are:

1. At the initial stage of manufacturing the core, mark up the sheets of foam or other material you use. Carefully inspect the drawings and read the instructions. For convenience, cut it all with a stationery knife. Then glue the obtained sheets with glue to form the hive body. The following main dimensions will be suitable and the most optimal: length - 570 mm, width - 450 mm and height - 450 mm.
2. The second stage covers the manufacture of special partitions from plywood.Determine their number based on how many families and beemaps on your site you want to withdraw. Fix the partitions with two screws. It is important that the partitions are the same in size; this will prevent the bees from moving from one side to the other.
3. At the third stage, cut out the bays for the worker bees. Note that they should be no more than 15 mm in diameter. Each family needs a separate log, as it is responsible for the air circulation in the nest.
4. As a conclusion, attach the legs to the base of the core, one piece on each side of the frame. You can also use folding metal legs, for them take a bar with a diameter of 10 mm.

Such a simple and clear algorithm will help you to make a mini-hive yourself, using the most common materials and tools.

For many beekeepers, nucleuses become a real salvation throughout the year. They help not only to grow young, healthy little bees and keep spare, but also increase the productivity of the whole apiary. New families are formed in them that differ from ordinary ones in quality and growth rate.

This helps in collecting nectar, respectively, and increases the amount of honey produced per season. Moreover, the cores perfectly tolerate the winter cold, windy and rainy weather. And the most important advantage lies in their availability and ease of manufacture. Materials can be bought at the building store for a small price, and even a novice can easily make such a mini-house with their own hands.